Economists have given some attention to cricket in recent years, as they have to other professional sports, without focussing in detail on the history of the game (PEP [26], Sloane [33], [34], Wilson and Allan [41], Schofield [29]). Economic historians have also shown interest in the game but this has been confined to aspects of the labour market in the early days of organized cricket (Mandle [23], Vamplew [38]). Meanwhile, detailed histories of the game remain descriptive records of performances on the field and of changes in operating procedures (Altham [1], Swanton [37], Ross [27]) with at best some attempt to relate developments to general trends in economic and social conditions (Arlott [2], [3], Bowen [7], Brookes [8]).